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From Technology To Professional Development: How Can The Use Of An Interactive Whiteboard Enhance The Nature Of Teaching And Learning In Modern Foreign Languages Or/And Secondary Mathematics? Introduction First of all, in order to examine how the use of an interactive whiteboard can enhance the nature of teaching and learning in modern foreign languages and secondary mathematics, it is important to understand the potential capability of interactive whiteboards as well as the principles of their operation. There are two basic types of interactive whiteboards that can be used in education. The first type of interactive whiteboards is a virtual electronic version of a traditional dry wipe board on a personal computer. It allows the students to view what their teachers, presenters, or classmates draw or write. This device is also called an electronic whiteboard and is often used in a data-sharing systems and conferencing systems (for example, in such systems as Microsoft NetMeeting).
The second type of an interactive whiteboard is a large physical display panel. It can operate both as an electronic copy board, as a traditional whiteboard, a computer projector screen or a traditional projector screen, or a touch screen, on which the image can be controlled by writing or touching on the surface of the whiteboard panel instead of using a traditional keyboard or mouse. The first type of whiteboards is quite simple and can be evidently used in education process. However, the principle of functioning is very simple, as the student has a chance to follow the instructor's explanations with no personal participation in the education process. At the same time, the second type of whiteboards is more interesting, as it implies the student's active participation in the process of learning, and, therefore, should be examined more thorough in order to understand how this interactive whiteboard can enhance the nature of teaching and learning in modern foreign languages and secondary mathematics. The Use of Interactive Whiteboards in Classroom Environments: Advantages Interactive whiteboards can be used in classroom and lecture environments, as the technology used in interactive makes possible to draw and write on the whiteboards surface, and then to print the image, save the image to the personal computer, or send it via e-mail or network to the computers of other students (Music, D. , Reynolds, D. , 2005).
The technology also allows projecting the image onto the surface of the interactive whiteboard and then modifying or controlling the image by touching the surface by a special pencil, or touching the image directly. The teacher (or student) can then modify the image or text by writing annotations, and then they can save the modified image to the disk and send it to other people. The benefits of using interactive whiteboards in education are obvious. First of all, as far as interactive whiteboards have much in common with traditional conventional whiteboards, they can be used by the users, who have difficulties in adopting new technologies. As far as interactive whiteboards are user-friendly, easy to understand and easy to control, this medium can be easily used in the process of learning (for example, they can be used for presentations from the front of the classroom). Secondly, interactive whiteboards can facilitate the process of learning in modern foreign languages and secondary mathematics, and easily demonstrate the potential of e-learning as well as alternative modes of delivery.
Thirdly, the interactive whiteboards allow lecturers and teachers to make the process of preparation to their lecture or presentation, because they allow using various types of educational material, such as text from the text processor (Microsoft Word), picture or graph from the internet, a spreadsheet or database from Microsoft Excel, or any other information the teacher will want to introduce to his students during the lecture. Interactive whiteboards also make possible to create the set of learning objects that are rapidly and easily customized. These objects can be created or chosen from a number of already existing educational content, and then they can be modified and adapted by the teachers to the needs of students of the class depending on the content and aim of the lecture. The possibility to make these changes in real time makes the use of interactive whiteboards very efficient.
In addition, the use of interactive whiteboards allow students to assimilate information more rapidly and easier, as the students have a chance to take part in the process of learning and discussions by freeing the learners from taking notes, and, at the same time, providing the students with more time they can spend on discussion of the subject of the lessons and lectures. In such a way, the students have a possibility to work together (in pairs or in teams) around a specific work area or a shared task. Interactive whiteboards can be also integrated into a virtual learning environment (VLE), thus making possible to share educational resources for all students. Interactive whiteboards can also be used by teachers for the interactive testing for all students in the class in order to determine whether the students have understood the material of the lecture.
By doing this, the use of interactive whiteboards can provide a rapid student feedback. The Use of Interactive Whiteboards in Classroom Environments: Advantages Yet, it should be taken into account that there are some disadvantages of using interactive whiteboards in educational process. First of all, it should be taken into account that interactive whiteboards are quite expensive, as they cost more if compared with traditional equipment, such as screen and projector combinations, or traditional conventional whiteboards. In addition, as far as the surface of interactive whiteboards is quite delicate, it can be easily damaged during the process of exploitation, and the replacement will be quite expensive. In contrast to interactive whiteboards, front projection boards can be used by several students, while the interactive whiteboard should be placed on the students desk and can be used by the student alone.
Apart from that, the interactive whiteboards with the fixed height can be mounted quite high for some students to reach the top of the whiteboard, or, in contrast, can be mounted too low to be visible and usable for all users. In case teachers use free-standing boards, it should be taken into account that these boards are difficult to secure, and they should be realigned every time when they are moved somewhere. Another point at issue relates to access to these whiteboards. For example, when all students are allowed to make changes and to enter data, the inputs can be deleted or get jumbled, and it will be quite difficult to understand what is going on on the whiteboard, due to multiple data entry. In addition, in case the teachers allow remote access to the content of the interactive whiteboard (this is often done in order to facilitate the process of learning), some students may send drawings, or comments that have no relation to the subject of the lesson. However, in case all these disadvantages are taken into account, and in case managed and implemented properly, interactive whiteboards' advantages overweight its disadvantages and may be recommended for the use in lecture and classroom environments.
Interactive Whiteboards: Mode of Functioning Picture 1 Interactive Whiteboard - Mode of Functioning (ISC, 2002) Interactive whiteboards usually consist of four components: personal computer, a projector, the software, and the display panel (See Picture 1). The mode of operation is quite simple: the computer is connected to the interactive whiteboard and a projector. The projector delivers the image displayed on the computer screen, onto the whiteboards. The computer and whiteboard are connected via the cable (or sometimes wireless connection). The display panels are either back or front projection. Apart from that, some interactive whiteboard sets are equipped by additional components, such as hand-held keypads that are used to collect the individual responses, and interactive whiteboard tablets, which are the smaller personal versions of the larger whiteboard (ISC, 2002).
In addition, some interactive whiteboards sets can be equipped by the plasma screens instead of traditional projectors. However, there plasma screens are much more expensive and can hardly be recommended for a wide use in lecture and classroom environments. Now, the technologies used in interactive whiteboards, are also different. Some whiteboards imply resistive membrane. To put it differently, this type of whiteboards have a flexible and soft surface that consists of two different parts of special resistive material (Williams, M. , Burdon, R, 2001).
These two pieces are separated by a small gap that, in its turn, forms a touch-sensitive membrane. The teachers and students can use fingers or special pencils (stylus) in order to draw or write on the whiteboards. The pencils can be of different colors (this can be done through software selection), and the movement of the styluses is tracked by software that detects the pressure of the pen on the whiteboard surface. The electro-magnetic interactive whiteboards have much in common with traditional whiteboards, as they also have a hard surface and the students can write or draw on the surface using traditional pens. However, in order to operate in an interactive more, these whiteboards are equipped with special battery-driven styluses emitting a magnetic field (ISC, 2002). This magnetic field is then detected by the grid of fine wires that are embedded beneath the surface of the whiteboard, or by the frame of the interactive whiteboard.
Interactive whiteboards based on laser scanner technology also have a hard surface for writing. Infrared laser scanners tracing and detecting the movement of the stylus are mounted in the top corners of the whiteboard. These whiteboards require special felt styluses, where every stylus has a uniquely encoded reflective collar used by the laser scanners to detect the position and the color on the surface. The Use of Interactive Whiteboards in Classroom Environments As we have already mentioned, the interactive whiteboards can be extensively used in learning and education. They can drastically enhance the nature of teaching and learning in modern foreign languages and secondary mathematics, as they can be used by the teachers to write over the top of educational material and programs in order to annotate necessary points or to highlight important information. They allow surfing internet pages and websites that contain education-related information in a teacher-directed manner, so that all students will be able to see.
The use of interactive whiteboards in teaching and learning in modern foreign languages and secondary mathematics will evidently promote group working among students, as they will have a chance to approach the board and by making comments will be able to take active part in discussion related to...
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